


Miracle on North Mill Street

by dkfenger



Category: El Goonish Shive
Genre: EGS Flash Fiction Week 2019, Gen, Obvious nod to famous film, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-09 05:00:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20505350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dkfenger/pseuds/dkfenger
Summary: EGS Flash Fiction Week 2019This is something of a milder and sillier (in some ways) take on an AU.  It sprang to mind when Zee_McZed suggested a flash fiction week, and pretty much fell onto the page in a burst of inspiration.





	Miracle on North Mill Street

Grace Scuiridae, ward of Edward Verres, was far too nice to slam doors, even if she really, really wanted to. Instead, she closed her bedroom door softly behind her, and flopped gracelessly onto her bed. Once again, Edward had made it very clear that revealing anything about her heritage would be a huge problem. The most wonderful party she could imagine was set to happen in a few days, and she had been ordered not to tell Ashley anything important about herself.

Grace buried her face in her pillow and muffled a scream of frustration. Once she'd calmed down slightly she rolled to her back and grumbled at the ceiling. "Why did I have to be born with all these other alien bits? I wish my father had stuck to human DNA."

"I can grant that wish." The voice was male, and entirely unexpected.

Grace sat up in bed, blinking at the intruder. "How can you be here? This house is comprehensively warded."

John de Lancie shrugged. "Human magic. Hardly a problem. And entirely not the point. Do you wish to see what would have happened if you had been born normal?"

Grace's eyebrows knitted. "I... guess?"

"I'll take it. Take my hand."

Grace warily rose from her bed, and took the proffered hand. The moment she touched it, the room dissolved in a psychedelic swirl of brilliant colours. 

A moment later, Grace was standing outside Moperville North High School. Students were fleeing the school in droves, save for one green-haired girl smoking and ignoring the chaos... and one fiery-haired woman running toward the source of the chaos.

"Nanase!" cried Grace. "What's she... Oh, no. Not the goo!"

Grace rushed after Nanase, and arrived in time to watch the last of Nanase's colour-clones destroyed by the goo-monster. A moment later, Nanase and Ellen were pinned against the wall. The others lept into action, a moment too late. Nanase's last act was an illusion to divert the talons. It worked... for Ellen.

Grace cried out in horror as she saw her friend fall to the floor. Ellen's rage fuelled a suicidal attack much as Grace remembered the battle, and the Goo was destroyed.

"Not Nanase," moaned Grace.

"And of course, without Nanase..."

The scenery whirled, and when it stabilized they were outside Moperville South instead. Abraham was limping away from the school, with Ellen in his arms. Grace's eyes went even wider. "No! Without Nanase..."

"Ellen dies. Edward arrives in a towering rage, and kills Abraham outright."

A brilliant flash of light lit the forest.

"He's so fired, isn't he," sighed Grace.

"Surprisingly, no," replied John. "His skills are too valuable. But he turns bitter and hard. Worse, the agency takes away Tedd's access to alien technology."

"Oh, no..."

The scene dissolves around them once more, and like a cheesy Scooby-doo flashback effect, a cave in a park appears before them. Susan staggers out of the cave, looking stunned and lost, with Sarah close behind her carrying an odd hammer-shaped artifact.

"Without your presence," noted John, "Susan never opened up about killing the aberration in Paris. Jerry found her breakdown confusing, but never offered his help."

"So when Tengu arrived..." breathed Grace. "Nobody knew."

"Exactly."

The scene warped once more. A swarm of zombie clones were besieging the Verres house, with a dark brooding figure behind them. The door shattered under the onslaught.

Grace turned away. "No. I can't. Please don't make me watch."

"Everyone you know and love would be dead if it were not for your abilities. And you would be ignorant of it all..."

John and Grace disappeared again, reappearing in a small bedroom adorned with posters of unicorns and squirrels. Sitting at the battered desk was a young woman, black-rimmed glasses helping her focus on her textbooks.

"This is what you would be, if your wish was granted," said John. "Ignorant of the titanic struggles going on around you."

The girl spun around to face them. "Hey, who are you guys, and why does she look like a buff version of me?"

Grace closed her eyes miserably. "I have seen enough, spectre. I rescind my wish."

In a sparkle of rainbow-coloured magic, they vanished again.

"What the heck was that?" wondered the girl.

*** *** ***

Grace reappeared in her bedroom, and flopped on her back on her bed. "So it's hopeless."

"Not at all. Do you understand, now?"

Grace sighed wistfully. "I know I have it good. Tedd, Nanase, Ellen, all my friends who know who I am and like me anyway. Or in Teddy's case, love me even more for what I am. I just wish I didn't have to keep all these secrets."

John de Lancie's eyes twinkled. "Are you really sure you want to make that wish?"

Grace's eyes went very wide, and she shook her head frantically. "No!"

**Author's Note:**

> To forestall the obvious question: "Is John de Lancie supposed to represent Q or Discord?", the answer is: yes.


End file.
